Frequently Asked Questions
About HAY Living's Process and Feng Shui

An interior designer focuses primarily on aesthetics or how a space looks. We focuses on how a space feels and functions energetically for the people living or working in it. The two disciplines complement each other beautifully, and we frequently collaborate with design teams. But our starting point is always the person, not the palette.

HAY Living works with a wide range of clients, from individuals and families creating meaningful home environments, to organizations across residential, commercial, healing, and community settings. We bring the same level of care, expertise, and intention to every engagement, regardless of scale.

Rarely. The most powerful feng shui adjustments are often the simplest which could be a shift in furniture or object placement, a change in how light enters a room or the removal or relocation of something that is blocking positive energy flow. Sharon works with what you have wherever possible so you feel good in your space. The goal is transformation, not expenditure.

We begin by listening to you, your story, your needs, and what you want to feel in the space. We then conduct a thorough walk-through, observing how energy moves through the environment, what is working, and what is blocking the potential positive energy of the space. We then calculate timing with energy patterns. From there we provide detailed, practical desired recommendations and supports their implementation. We work with you to come up with suggestions that you are happy to live with.

It depends on the size and complexity of the space. A single-room residential consultation takes approximately 2 hours. Then the information is taken and analyzed in our office. A full facility or commercial engagement is scoped individually and may unfold across multiple visits and an in-depth comprehensive analysis. HAY Living takes the time each space genuinely requires, the process is never rushed.

Our preferred approach is always on-site first there is no substitute for experiencing a space in person. Then the consultation notes are analysed remotely so they can work out the best and most complete results for you. For some clients outside the primary service area of Muskoka and Simcoe, or larger projects, we offers initial consultations remotely and schedules on-site visits as the engagement develops. Every situation is discussed individually.

Feng shui is not a conventional science in the Western academic sense — and Sharon would never claim otherwise. It is a sophisticated, time-honoured discipline rooted in thousands of years of careful observation about how environments affect the human experience. What is increasingly scientific is the evidence supporting its core principles. Environmental psychology, neuroscience, and evidence-based design research all confirm what feng shui has long understood — that light, spatial flow, colour, proportion, and the arrangement of our surroundings have profound and measurable effects on mood, cognition, sleep, anxiety, and overall wellbeing. HAY Living's practice sits at the crossroads of ancient wisdom and modern understanding and culture. The results her clients experience are real, regardless of what we choose to call the framework behind them.

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice of arranging environments to support the health, wellbeing, and energy of the people who live and work in them. It looks at how time, space, light, colour, furniture and object placement and flow interact with the people there. Then Feng Shui tools such as various analytical charts and compass are used to calculate time and space energy patterns to feel balanced, calm, and alive. It is both an art and a discipline, refined over thousands of years and increasingly supported by modern environmental psychology, lifestyle and technology.

Yes, and clients describe it consistently. Better sleep. Reduced anxiety. A greater sense of calm and belonging. In organizational settings, teams and families often report that the environment simply feels different after its been transformed such as feeling more settled, more purposeful, more alive. These outcomes are real, even when they are difficult to quantify. The cost of a consultation is minimal compared to the real benefits.

The best place to start is a conversation. HAY Living offers an introductory call where the consultant listens to your situation, answers your questions honestly, and helps you understand whether and how HAY Living can serve you. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a genuine exchange between two people who both want the right outcome for your space.

Not at all. Many of HAY Living's most satisfied clients were skeptics at first. Feng Shui works on the level of environment, how a space feels, flows, and functions. You don't need to hold any particular belief for a well-designed room or building to feel more peaceful, a workspace to feel more focused, or a home to feel more like you.

This is one of the most common misconceptions about Feng Shui and a completely understandable one. Feng shui is not a decorating style. It is not about bamboo flutes, lucky cats, or any particular cultural aesthetic. It is a set of principles about how energy moves through space and how that movement affects the people within it. Those principles are universal in all cultures. They apply equally to a contemporary penthouse, a Muskoka cottage, a corporate boardroom, or a city subdivision. Our recommendations are based on and look like the person and place we are working with and their lifestyle, not like any single cultural tradition. A HAY Living space feels like you, only more intentional, more balanced, and more alive.